GEOFF HARDMAN

President, SparkBase Inc.

One of Geoff Hardman's main goals is to train employees to the point where they could get a better job — even if they end up working somewhere else.

They usually stay for a while, though, because employees want to work for companies that help them grow, said Mr. Hardman, who is president of SparkBase Inc., a Cleveland company that processes purchases made with gift and loyalty cards.

In addition to helping set SparkBase's strategic direction, Mr. Hardman manages its day-to-day operations and its client services division.

It's a good thing Mr. Hardman, 34, likes to help his colleagues, because he has a lot more of them these days. SparkBase employs more than 30 people, up from eight a year ago.

They're all different people, so it's important to understand what drives each of them to work hard, Mr. Hardman said.

“Some people are motivated by money, some are motivated by learning, some are motivated by an extra day off or leniency so they can attend to their family,” he said.

It was in Boston that Mr. Hardman found his own motivation to succeed in the business world. After graduating from Shaker Heights High School in 1995, he spent a year at Cleveland State University pursuing his first passion: theater. However, he dropped out a year later and moved to Boston. The next few months weren't glamorous — he slept on a friend's couch — but he did land a job at a store that sold cell phones that were huge by today's standards.

A few promotions later, AT&T started moving him to other Boston-area stores. Those stores then would see a boost in sales, which Mr. Hardman attributed to his focus on building strong teams.

He moved back to Northeast Ohio in 2004 to become director of operations for Twinsburg-based NewMarket Solutions Inc., which was owned by a company that employed his brother, Douglas Hardman. In 2007, the elder Hardman bought NewMarket Solutions' card processing partner, SparkBase, and recruited his brother to join him.

“My success,” Geoff Hardman said, “is due to my brother's, and hopefully his is due to mine and the team here.”

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